Flood-damaged Swat power plant restored

Nisar highlights importance of completing protective wall before next monsoon to prevent production disruptions

PESHAWAR:

Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization (PEDO) and Energy and Power Department have successfully restored the 36.6 MW Daral Khwar power station in Swat district which had been badly damaged by devastating floods in the year 2022 and this year.

It had been re-connected with the National Grid. However, the construction of the protection wall will be completed soon to protect the power plant from future flooding.

In this regard, K-P Secretary Energy & Power Nisar Ahmad Khan paid an emergency visit to Daral Khwar Power Station, Swat. While giving a briefing on this occasion, it was revealed that the power station under the supervision of PEDO was successfully completed by a team of Chinese and local engineers in 2021, which is earning Rs1.3 billion annually for the province.

However, the power plant suffered severe damage due to the catastrophic floods in 2022 and later in April 2024.

Secretary Power Nisar Ahmad Khan, who is also serving as acting Chief Executive Officer PEDO, inspected the spillway, sand trap, power channel, switch yard and other parts of Daral Khwar Power House, and also issued necessary instructions to keep the power house safe from future flood situations.

He urged the relevant authorities to complete the recruitment process immediately to overcome the shortage of technical staff in the power plant.

Speaking on the occasion, he said that Daral Khwar is a profitable asset of the province, which generates income to the tune of billions annually, so the construction of the protective wall should be completed soon before the next monsoon.

He urged that work should be done immediately because even a slight delay may affect the production of the power plant.

It may be mentioned here that PEDO has successfully completed seven hydropower projects, from which a total of 161 MW of electricity is being generated, from which the province is getting an annual income of more than Rs4 billion, while 12 projects, including 300 MW Balakot Mansehra, 157 MW Madyen Swat, 88 MW Gabral Kalam, 84 MW Matiltan Swat, 69MW Lawi Chitral, 40.8 MW Koto Dir, 11.8 MW Karora Shangla, 10.5 MW Chapri Charkhel Kuram and 6.9 MW Mujahideen Power Project Torghar projects are progressing rapidly.

From these projects a total of 778 megawatts of electricity will be generated and the province will have an annual income of more than Rs45 billion.